Hundreds of prisoners in Brazil escaped due to measures against coronavirus

Hundreds of prisoners escaped from four prisons in the Brazilian state of São Paulo on Tuesday night, learned BulgarianMilitary.com citing local media report.

About 170 prisoners were returned to police custody, but up to a thousand people can still be kept free. The exact number of fugitives has not yet been established.

We are talking about semi-open prisons, which prisoners can leave, according to the schedule. However, in connection with the outbreak of coronavirus in the state, local authorities temporarily prohibited them from leaving correctional facilities, on the basis of fears that someone might become infected with the virus and become a carrier.

The authorities also limited the visits of guests to prisoners. Disagreeing with these restrictions, the prisoners escaped.

According to the Globe TV channel, only one of the institutions in question contains about 2.8 thousand prisoners.

In Brazil, 234 people are infected with coronavirus, with the largest number of infections reported in São Paulo.